Obama State Spox: Trump Admin is Tough on Russia

Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby told CNN that the president's policies have hit Moscow hard, but he called for Trump to be more vocal on Russian aggression.

By NTK Staff | 04.03.2018 @2:56pm

Ret. Rear Admiral John Kirby, the former State Department Spokesman during the Obama administration, told CNN on Tuesday that President Trump has, in fact, been tough on Russia.

“If you look at the things [Trump’s] done in totality, his administration has been fairly tough on Russia,” Kirby said.

Earlier in the day, the president claimed that “nobody’s been tougher” on Moscow than him.

Kirby called that an “overstatement” but listed all the things Trump has done to curb the Kremlin’s ambitions. Citing the provision of arms to Ukraine and the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats, the former Obama official defended the Trump administration’s tough-on-Russia credentials.

However, Kirby would like to see the president be more vocal in his denunciations of Russian President Vladimir Putin.